


Rookie

by PoetsReach



Series: Emergency Goalie [10]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF, Original Work
Genre: Attempted Kidnapping, Gen, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Trans Character, don't worry it's a failed attempted kindapping, tags that don't apply to the first chapter:
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:15:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28493745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoetsReach/pseuds/PoetsReach
Summary: Leafs management asks their goalie to house a rookie.
Relationships: OMC/OMC
Series: Emergency Goalie [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/764586
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19





	Rookie

**Author's Note:**

> So you might have noticed some drastic looking tags. they mostly pertain to what will be the second chapter of this. I just wanted to be upfront about what I know for sure the story will include. Nothing is graphic and I will include a summary of the section the tags pertain to if you don't want to read it in the text.

Avi looked up from tying his shoes when someone called his name and was surprised to see the Assistant GM standing just inside of the propped open dressing room door. When he beckoned for him to come join him Avi nodded and finished tying his shoe before grabbing his bag and following the man out into the hall.

“Did you need me for something sir?”

“There’s something we need to talk about, a proposition, nothing you are obliged to go along with. Do you have some time to talk now?”

Avi knew that wasn’t really a question, but he thought about it before agreeing, making sure there wasn't anything he would have to rearrange to make it work. “Sure, I have about an hour before I need to head over and pick the kids up.”

“That should be plenty of time. Let’s head over to the conference room so we can explain the situation.”

When they reached the conference room Avi was surprised to see the GM and a couple others he didn’t know, but recognized from them being around the team. There were documents all over the table, some of which he remembered from his last contract negations. The assistant GM saw him looking and explained while gesturing for him to take a seat. “Don’t worry, all of these aren’t about you, we just got off a call with a prospective signing.” He took the only remaining seat at the center of the table facing Dubas.

Once Avi had sat down Dubas started things off. “I want to start Roth, by saying we are all very pleased with your play since you arrived here, you have exceeded all expectations and believe me, those expectations were high. Beyond your play on the ice you have become a real leader on this team, especially for the younger players.” He paused. “We asked you in here today because we have a request to make. Now I want to make it clear that you can say no, no repercussions, no ill will.”

Avi didn’t know where this was going, but he was getting nervous and Dubas seemed to realize that and cut to the chase.

“We want you to house a rookie. Dawn tells me that you recently bought a house and have the space to do it.”

Avi could hear the question in his voice, even if he hadn’t actually asked one. He sat for a moment and thought about it before responding carefully. “Well, a lot would depend on who the rookie was, I have two young kids to think about, and I would obviously have to talk to Danny before anything was decided. Why ask this now? Seems like an odd time of year.”

Dubas nodded and turned to look at the man sitting next to Avi. “Jack here is our head European scout, I’ll let him explain.”

Avi turned to look at the man, who looked like he was about ready to jump out of his skin and was clutching a tablet. 

“Have you heard of a player named Alexie Medved in the KHL? He plays for Salavat Yulaev.”

The name did sound familiar, so he dug through what he knew of Russian ice hockey. Then he remembered where he had heard it before. He and some other Russian players had been in the news for about five minutes for some sort of minor scandal that hadn’t made much of an impression on him. The kind of thing you do when you are young and dumb, but not necessarily a bad apple. Or they might have been the ones filmed trying to get a cat out of a tree, while at least a little drunk. One of the rookies showed him the video last year. “Yeah, I’ve heard of him, can’t say I know much about him though.”

“He went undrafted when he entered the NHL draft, people thought he had personal issues and not enough skill to make up for them. For the last couple of years he’s been a great player with not much support around him from his team. He may be one of the best young defenseman outside of the NHL, but he’s on a shit team so no one’s been watching. Let me show you some of his tape.”

A few minutes later Avi noded. “I can see why you are so excited about him, he’s good, very good. If he had a decent partner and some forward support he looks like he could be great. But what does this have to do with me?”

The assistant GM sat forward in his chair. “We’ve been in talks with him. His contract in the KHL is up at the end of the season and he is still interested in coming to the NHL. We want him living with someone, preferably a vet, and he agreed. We called you in today because he asked for you specifically.”

Avi blinked a couple times in surprise. “Why me? I mean, I have young kids, seems like a house without kids might be more the speed of a 22 year old?” He didn’t bother mentioning that this guy was Russian and might have a problem with living with a queer family, if not personally it might cause problems for him in Russia. This kid probably already knew that. 

“He actually has a daughter, she will be turning six, he was 16 when his girlfriend got pregnant and his daughter has been living with him for the last three years. She is most of the so called off ice problem. She would be coming with him to North America if he signs in the NHL.”

Avi nodded slowly, thinking. “So it isn’t partying or addiction or temperament problems? He’s a good kid who just happens to have a kid of his own?”

Dubas sat forward and nodded. “Exactly, If you say no we can go back to him and work something else out, Hyman and his family maybe, but he seemed pretty set on you. You would have to ask him why yourself if you want, he is visiting Toronto next week. Why don’t you think about it in the meantime, talk it over with your husband.

Over the course of the next week Avi and Danny came to the conclusion that before they could make a decision as to whether they could bring Alexie into their home, with his daughter, to live in the in-law apartment over the garage, they would have to meet him. 

Management seemed pleased that it wasn’t a flat no.

A meeting was set up so they could talk over lunch, in between Alexie’s meetings with various members of the front office and tours of the various facilities that the team used. Danny had taken the afternoon off so he could be there and meet this kid who was asking to join his family in their home with his own family. 

Avi and Danny were talking quietly in the corner of the cafeteria they had staked out for the meeting when Avi saw Alexie making his way over to them. Alexie Medved was a small man, at least for a hockey player, at only 5’9”. From what Avi had seen of his tape he relied on blazing speed and exceptional skating ability, along with puck handling and a high hockey IQ to make up for what he lacked in size. He wasn’t sure he had ever seen someone more tenacious on the puck. He suspected that tenacity translated to his life outside of hockey as well. They stood and, once all of the introductions and greetings were out of the way, settled back down at the table. It was clear that Alexie had studied English and did not need the interpreter he had been offered when he had arrived and who had been sitting in on the other meetings with Alexie and his agent. Neither the agent nor interpreter were in sight. 

Alexie cut right to the chase. “You are wondering why I asked to stay with you. It is because of Sanya. Here, let me show you a picture.” He pulled up a picture on his phone, one of many, they saw as he scrolled through the photo album looking for a favorite. The picture was of a small child in a dress, smiling up at the camera. He pushed the phone across the table toward them before clearing his throat. “Sanya is five, almost six.”

“Six, that puts her right between Cody and Erich, our kids.”

There was a pause, Alexie looked very intently at the picture on the phone screen, then looked up at the two men sitting across the table from him. “He. Sanya is my son.”

Avi took his cue from the young man sitting across from him and spoke quietly. “He. I’m sorry, management told us you have a daughter.”

“I have not told them. If they knew how important it is that I leave Russia, that I go to the right team, I have no leverage. When they tell me they want us living with a veteran on the team I ask for you because I know you would be good to him about this. That you would not tell me I am bad parent because I want to let Sanya be Aleksandr not Aleksandra if he wants it. He told me when he was four. I had just signed again with Salavat Yulaev after I was passed over in the draft here. It was his wish for new years. I had to tell him to keep secret. I tell him it important game. He is Aleksandr but is playing character named Aleksandra when other people around, just like him, like Aleksandr, but girl. He does not like the game so much anymore, but when he stopped playing while visiting his mother she frightened him. Now he very careful. I do not want him to have to be careful.”

Avi looked carefully at the picture of the little boy, then caught and held Alexie’s gaze. “He is very lucky to have you as his father.” He paused and looked to Danny who gave a subtitle nod. “We would be happy to have you in our home, but I just want to make sure you’ve thought this through. I don’t know the details of how things are in Russia, not like you do, but I know there are laws, the propaganda laws. If you live with us won’t there be questions? How are you planning to manage that?”

Alexie looked at his hands, picked at one of his nails. This made him nervous every single time, even though with them it shouldn’t. There wasn’t any reason. Talking about Sanya was hard, at least talking about this. He could talk for days about Sanya, but this was something for Sanya to tell about himself, it wasn’t for Alexie. If it wasn’t to keep him safe and build a better life for him he wouldn't. He would tell about Sanya to these men who he knew would keep him safe, but they were right, if they were going to be left alone by the press they would need a story and he wasn’t telling Sanya’s. Not to the whole world. Not without permission. He would have to tell his own, but he wasn’t telling the world anything yet, not if he didn’t have to.

When he started to speak he couldn’t look up. “For now ask people here, media people, what should do.” He shrugged. “Eventually will have to say something, deal with it, then I have something I can tell, but not yet. And I won’t tell them about Sanya.”

Later that afternoon the assistant GM came through the training area and stopped by where Avi was stretching on the mats and cleared his throat. “We want to thank you for agreeing to house Medved and his daughter. I assume you got an explanation out of him as to why he was so set on it being you if he was living with a vet and I don’t need to know what it is right now. But we appreciate it. If he adjusts to the North American game as well as we expect you should be facing fewer shots next season.”

Avi grinned up at him, “Always a good thing. And I am happy to do it, he seemed like a good guy.”

**Author's Note:**

> This author loves comments and kudos <3 Thanks for reading! :)


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